Day Twenty

For the second day in a row we didn't rush up. We had a plan of what we were going to do and knew we didn't need to rush off too early. Left around 11.15am and headed south towards our destination for the day, Cody. Ann and I had been before but only as a stop over on our first trip. Today we were going to see what it had to offer. It was a mixed bag in the end.

Our first port of call was the Buffalo Bill Dam on the Shoshone River about six miles west of Cody. We parked up and wandered down. It doesn't cost anything to go there, presumably as you are just looking at a dam. We had a look about and took some photos of the drop.

We then went inside to the visitor centre. Watched a film about the construction. It was competed in 1910 despite the fact it took three different companies to build it due to the conditions. They could only build in winter due to the flooding during the spring and summer from all the snow melt. So the conditions for construction were fairly chilly. Not great for setting concrete. Most of the stuff they did do seemed to get destroyed each spring which again didn't really help. When it was finally completed it was the tallest dam in the world.

We bought a magnet as ever and then headed back to the town of Cody. We grabbed a quick sandwich before boarding the Cody trolley at 3pm. 'Give us an hour and we'll give you one hundred years' is the tag line. It took us around the town showing us some things. The guy talking did so very fast, to the point at times you didn't really hear what was said. He also looked very familiar.

Dan Thomas

The tour was ok but quite expensive. We learnt some stuff. Ann won a wooden nickel for knowing something.

After we got off the trolley we nipped down the road to the local mini golf course. This time it was a three way challenge. Ann was pleased that the course wasn't like the last one we had played on. It had some interesting holes such as the following two.

It was the younger Knightley who took an early lead despite Bob throwing in two of these.

It got slightly close during the back nine but then at the 16th it went wrong for both Roffe and Knightley Snr.

They both failed to hit the hole and took 6s. The final scores were:

Knightley RJ - 47
Knightley WR - 54
Roffe A - 65

As we left the course and made our way back to the car we spotted an intruder on the course.

We now had a spare half hour until our next activity so drove to the other end of town to get fuel. Dad said he would pay but he came back out and said unfortunately his card was declined despite having used it earlier. Presume the bank now think his card had dubious activity on it. Either that on he was conning us into paying.

We then headed back to the centre of town to watch the Cody gun fighters show at 6pm. Although it is a free event, we had paid $2 each to reserve seats to get a good view. Ann and I had high hopes for the show having seen something similar in Dodge City. Bear in mind this show is run every night throughout the summer.

It started off with national anthem that we had to stand for. Most people think of Americans as loud patriots but the singing here left a lot to be desired.

What then unfolded is quite difficult to explain. With a large crowd all ready for a rip roaring show, we got what can only be described as a complete pile of crap. It was so bad it was funny, we spent most of the time sniggering at the ineptitude of the performance. There seemed to be no script of any sort and the 'actors' just seemed to make stuff up with no real idea of what was happening. It made the Ermington Players look like the RSC. I kept thinking Mick Knight was going to appear at any moment dressed as the sheriff. Here is a brief example of the calibre of the show.

I read last night that at a performance last summer one of the actors shot three audience members as his pistol was loaded with real ammunition 'by accident'. The show was then abandoned for the rest of the year and the guy ended up in court. Dad and I hoped for something similar to happen today as it would have made it much more interesting. Eventually when the people in it could think of nothing else to say, it finished and the three of us walked away quite quickly.

We headed down to our last activity for the day, the Cody Nite Rodeo. We got in early and got some food. I got popcorn without realising it was salted. Not good. We took our seats and waited for the action to begin. The commentator thanked god before it started for everything from the tarmac on the roads to the safety of the athletes. When finished dad turned to us and said 'What a load of bollocks'. It did eventually start. We saw all the normal things that we have seen at our two previous rodeos except here they were just done much worse.

I think the fact that this rodeo is run every day for three months just means that the competitors just aren't of the same calibre as those that appear at the big 2 or 3 day shows around the country. Most failed at the event they were in, falling off or failing to capture the animal. The audience was also small, which gives the impression it is merely a tourist attraction rather than a thing the locals flock to. It was still good to see it, but it got cold at the end and we all just couldn't wait to leave by the time it finished.

We then had to make the drive back to the cabin eventually getting in at about 11pm. Drinks were made and drunk before, again, I am left writing up the day when everyone else is in bed.

States visited - 7

Dams seen - 1

Bull watch - high